Chapter 31: BYOK Setup Guide — Configuring Your AI Providers

Think of BYOK (Bring Your Own Key) like bringing your own coffee beans to a café that has the espresso machine—SeaMeet provides the extraction and analysis engine, you supply the AI access credentials. This keeps your data flowing directly between you and your chosen AI provider, with no third-party relay.

This chapter walks you through setting up both required components: an AI Summary key (Gemini) and an AI Agent provider (GitHub Copilot or Claude Code).

---

Chapter Objectives

After reading this chapter, you will be able to:

• Understand what keys are needed and why
• Obtain a free Gemini API key from Google AI Studio
• Install and configure GitHub Copilot CLI (free tier)
• Alternatively install and configure Claude Code CLI
• Verify that both components are working
• Update or remove a key when needed

---

Overview: What You Need

BYOK has two components:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    BYOK COMPONENTS                          │
├──────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────┤
│  A. AI Summary       │  Gemini API key (required)           │
│  (required)          │  Powers: transcription, summaries,   │
│                      │  action items, decisions, chapters   │
├──────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│  B. AI Agent         │  GitHub Copilot CLI  ← OR →          │
│  (need at least one) │  Claude Code CLI                     │
│                      │  Powers: screenshot analysis,        │
│                      │  custom AI queries                   │
└──────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────┘

You must configure A and at least one option from B for all AI features to work.

---

Part A: AI Summary — Gemini API Key

Why Gemini?

SeaMeet uses Google's Gemini model for audio transcription, meeting summaries, action item extraction, and related AI outputs. The Gemini API has a generous free tier that covers typical meeting workloads.

Getting Your Gemini API Key

1. Open your browser and go to Google AI Studio (aistudio.google.com/apikey)
   • Sign in with your Google account if prompted
2. Click Create API Key
3. Select or create a Google Cloud project when asked
4. Copy the generated key (it starts with AIza…)

Free tier: Gemini's free tier allows a substantial number of API calls per day. For typical meeting recording usage (a few hours of audio per week), the free tier is sufficient for most users.

Privacy: Your audio is sent directly to Google's API for transcription. Review Google's AI data usage policy if this is a concern for your use case.

Entering Your Key in SeaMeet

During the setup wizard (first time after subscribing):

1. The wizard opens automatically after you subscribe
2. Step 1 shows the AI Summary section
3. Paste your Gemini key into the input field
4. The key is validated automatically — you'll see:
   • ✅ Green checkmark: Key is valid
   • ❌ Red X: Key is invalid or incorrectly copied — check and re-paste
5. Click Next to proceed to the AI Agent setup

Later, via Settings:

1. Open Settings (⚙️)
2. Navigate to AI → API Keys
3. Find the AI Summary section
4. Click Edit or paste into the Gemini key field
5. Click Save — the key validates automatically

Testing and Removing a Key

In the API Keys settings:

• Test button — validates the key against Google's API
• Remove button — deletes the stored key; AI Summary features will be unavailable until you add a new key

If a key fails validation, it is automatically cleared to prevent storing a broken key. Simply paste a new one.

---

Part B: AI Agent Provider

You need at least one AI Agent provider. SeaMeet currently supports two:

Provider	Cost	Limit	Best for
GitHub Copilot CLI	Free (Copilot Free plan)	50 chats/month	Getting started, light use
Claude Code CLI	Paid (Claude Pro or Max)	Higher limits	Regular use, power users

You can install both and switch between them from Settings → AI.

---

Option 1: GitHub Copilot CLI (Free)

GitHub Copilot CLI is a command-line tool that SeaMeet uses as its AI Agent. The free GitHub Copilot tier includes 50 agent requests per month — enough for occasional screenshot analysis and AI queries.

Step 1: Install GitHub Copilot CLI

Choose the method that matches your system:

Windows (winget):

winget install GitHub.cli

macOS (Homebrew):

brew install gh

Linux (apt):

sudo apt install gh

Note: SeaMeet shows copy buttons next to each command in the setup UI — you can copy the exact command without typing it. For other Linux distributions, see the GitHub CLI installation docs.

Step 2: Authenticate with GitHub

After installation, open a terminal and run:

gh auth login

Follow the prompts to sign in to your GitHub account. This links the CLI to your GitHub account and enables the Copilot features.

Step 3: Detect in SeaMeet

1. In SeaMeet's API Keys setup (or Settings → AI → API Keys):
2. Find the AI Agent section → GitHub Copilot tile
3. Click Refresh (🔄)
4. SeaMeet scans for the installed CLI
5. If found: ✅ "Detected" status appears
6. If not found: check your installation and repeat

50 chats/month limit: The free Copilot plan is generous enough for getting started, but if you use the AI Agent frequently you may hit the limit. You can upgrade to GitHub Copilot Pro, or switch to Claude Code CLI for higher limits.

---

Option 2: Claude Code CLI (Paid)

Claude Code is Anthropic's CLI tool. It requires a Claude Pro or Max subscription but has higher usage limits than the free Copilot tier.

Step 1: Install Claude Code CLI

Windows (PowerShell):

irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

macOS / Linux:

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | sh

SeaMeet's setup UI shows copy buttons for each install command.

Step 2: Authenticate

After installation, open a terminal and run:

claude auth

Sign in with your Anthropic account (requires Claude Pro or Max plan).

Step 3: Detect in SeaMeet

1. In Settings → AI → API Keys → AI Agent → Claude Code tile
2. Click Refresh (🔄) to detect the installed CLI
3. ✅ "Detected" appears when found

---

Choosing Your Default Provider

If you have both Copilot and Claude installed, SeaMeet lets you choose which one to use by default:

1. Go to Settings → AI → API Keys
2. In the AI Agent section, both tiles will show as detected
3. Use the radio button or selector to choose the active provider
4. The selected provider is used for all AI Agent requests

You can switch providers at any time from Settings.

---

Verifying Everything Works

After setup, do a quick end-to-end check:

Test AI Summary:

1. Open any recording in your library
2. Click AI Insights → Generate Summary
3. If it completes without error: ✅ Gemini key is working

Test AI Agent:

1. Take a screenshot using SeaMeet
2. Open it in the screenshot viewer
3. Click the AI analysis tab and ask a question
4. If you get a response: ✅ AI Agent provider is working

---

Updating a Key

To update your Gemini key:

1. Settings → AI → API Keys → AI Summary → Edit
2. Clear the old key and paste the new one
3. Click Save

To update your Agent provider:

• Re-run the CLI install/auth steps if a key has expired
• Click Refresh in SeaMeet to re-detect

---

Quick Reference

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  BYOK SETUP GUIDE                          │
│                  Quick Reference                           │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Gemini key source │ aistudio.google.com/apikey (free)     │
│  Gemini free tier  │ Generous — enough for typical use     │
│  Enter key         │ Settings → AI → API Keys → AI Summary │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Copilot install   │ winget / brew / apt (free)             │
│  Copilot auth      │ gh auth login                         │
│  Copilot limit     │ 50 chats/month (free tier)            │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Claude install    │ curl/irm install script (paid)        │
│  Claude auth       │ claude auth                           │
│  Claude requires   │ Claude Pro or Max subscription        │
├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Detect provider   │ Settings → AI → API Keys → Refresh 🔄│
│  Switch provider   │ Radio button in AI Agent section      │
│  Test AI Summary   │ Open recording → Generate Summary     │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

---

Last updated: 2026-03-20

← Chapter 30: Subscription & Billing | Chapter 32: GitHub Copilot Provider →